Melanocharitidae – Berrypeckers & Longbills

The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, are a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family contains ten species in four (sometimes three) genera. They are small songbirds with generally dull plumage but a range of body shapes.

The berrypeckers are generally montane species, with only one, the black berrypecker, being found in lowland forest. In contrast the longbills live in lowland forests and low montane forests as well as on small islands around New Guinea. Amongst the berrypeckers there is a succession of species at different altitudes, with the Black Berrypecker being found in the lowlands, the Mid-mountain Berrypecker being found at lower altitudes (mid-montane) and the fan-tailed berrypecker being found near the tree-line.

Fan-tailed Berrypecker Melanocharis versteri (Male) – ©Dubi Shapiro

Fan-tailed Berrypecker Melanocharis versteri (Female) – ©Dubi Shapiro

Melanocharitidae species are usually seen alone or in pairs. They may associate with mixed-species feeding flocks, but are loose members and not core species. The diet of the family is dominated by berries and small fruits. Arthropods are also gleaned from foliage, and more rarely by hovering and snatching. They are highly active feeders, seldom pausing except when at berries. Most species feed in the lower and middle levels of the forest, although records suggest that the Obscure Berrypecker will enter the canopy to forage.

Black Berrypecker Melanocharis nigra – ©Dubi Shapiro

The male Black Berrypecker will also enter the canopy, while the female will remain lower down in the forest, suggesting some level of sexual segregation of feeding niches.

The breeding of some species is entirely undescribed, and little is known about the breeding in most species. Records of nests have been made in both wet and dry seasons. They build a cup nest, usually on a forked branch near the edge of a tree, out of fern scales and plant fibres bound neatly with insect or spider silk and ornamented with lichens. Little is known about the division of labour in the family, although the pattern exhibited by the Black Berrypecker, where the female constructs the nest alone but both sexes feed the young, may be typical of the family. They lay one or two eggs.

Obscure Berrypecker Melanocharis arfakiana – ©Dubi Shapiro

The berrypeckers and longbills are not considered to be threatened by human activities. No species is listed as threatened by the IUCN, although one species, the Obscure Berrypecker, is listed as data deficient. That species is known officially from two collected specimens, but unconfirmed reports suggest that it is not uncommon in remote parts of New Guinea.